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According to the China Electricity Council (CEC), total investments in power generation in China declined by 3.9% in 2018 to CNY 278.7bn (US$40bn), as investments in thermal power generation contracted by 8.3% to CNY78.6bn (US$11.35bn), its lowest level since 2004: investments in coal-fired power generation dipped by 8.8% to CNY 64.4bn (US$9.3bn), to the advantage of investments in hydropower (+13% to CNY 70bn (US$10bn)). Investments declined in nuclear power generation (-1.6% to CNY 44.7bn (US$6.45bn)), but also in wind and solar: investments in wind power decreased by 5.2% to CNY 64.6bn (US$9.3bn), while those in solar power generation fell by 27% to CNY 20.7bn (US$3bn). This fall is related to Chinese policies aimed at tackling a subsidy payment shortfall and at curbing overcapacities. Investments in transmission remained stable, at around CNY 534bn (US$77bn), but rose by 6.4% in distribution to CNY 302bn (US$43.6bn).

According to the CEC, renewable development, coal consumption cut and improvements in transmission and distribution losses helped reducing CO2 emissions from the power sector by around 13.68 GtCO2 over the 2006-2018 period.. The average carbon intensity would have decreased by 19% between 2005 and 2018, from around 841gCO2/kWh to 592 gCO2/kWh. In 2018, non-fossil power generation rose by 11% to more than 30% of the total power generation in China, thanks to soaring wind and solar production. Moreover, curtailment rates are improving: in 2018, the average curtailment rate for wind power was 7% (i.e. 28 TWh), down from 12% in 2017, while it stood at 3% (5.5 TWh) for solar power, compared to 5.8% in 2017.

The Irish government has released its new Climate Action Plan, which details how Ireland will achieve its 2030 targets for CO2 emissions and prepares to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050. Ireland will set out a system of 5-year carbon budgets (2021-2025, 2026-2030 and 2031-2035) and sector targets, with penalties if targets are not met.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), higher average oil prices in 2018 raised the value of global fossil fuel consumption subsidies by 34% in 2018, from US$316bn in 2017 to US$424bn in 2018. Oil subsidies rose by 27% to US$182bn, while electricity subsidies increased by 23% to US$143bn and gas subsidies surged by 74% to US$99bn.

Power supply has been mostly restored in Argentina, after a massive blackout on Sunday 16 June 2019, that left the entire country without power, along with some regions of neighbouring Uruguay, Paraguay and southern Brazil.

The Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC) and Egyptian Natural Gas (EGAS) has signed a US$500m settlement with Israel state-owned power utility Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) as a compensation for cancelling a gas contract in 2012. Egyptian companies will pay this amount over a 8.5-year period; in turn, IEC will drop all other claims resulting from a 2015 arbitration ruling. …

The Polish Parliament has decided to remove the power price cap for large electricity consumers set in December 2018, that did not work due to missing supplementary regulations. The price cap for mid-size and large companies will be removed on 1 July 2019, while the largest power consumers will be supported according to a new legislation to be adopted soon.. …

Japanese power utility Kyushu Electric will take part to a project led by Transborders Energy, TechnipFMX and Add Energy, on small-scale floating LNG (FLNG) to tap gas resources from remote gas fields off Australia.

The Polish power generation group Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) has issued a tender for the design, delivery, construction and commissioning of two gas-fired CCGT power units at its Dolna Odra coal-fired power plant in north-western Poland.

Inpex has signed a Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Indonesian authorities on a revised plan of development (POD) for the Abadi LNG project. The project includes developing the Abadi gas field in the Masela gas block off the Maluku coast and building a 9.5 Mt/year onshore gas liquefaction plant, gas pipelines and offshore facilities. …